


To Our Favourite Airbender

by maishidk



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Nico and Leo watch shows together, The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo) Spoilers, and cry together, they watch Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maishidk/pseuds/maishidk
Summary: Leo heads to Camp Half-Blood to deliver some heart breaking news, but when the mechanic finally arrives he just can't bring himself to tell the campers what had happened. It just hurt too much. He decides to tell them later. For now, he just wants to relax with his best friend. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo & Jason Grace, Nico di Angelo & Leo Valdez
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	To Our Favourite Airbender

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting here, I just thought I'd mention heh  
> Also SPOILERS FOR THE BURNING MAZE!

Leo shouldn't have been welcomed back to Camp with such bright smiles. Not when the reason he had come was to give them heartbreaking news. He stood in front of the campers, a hand resting on Festus. He didn’t even notice when he’d started tapping against the bronze dragon in Morse Code, but it somehow eased his nervousness.

“What’s up, guys?” he grinned reluctantly. 

“Leo?” someone from the crowd said in surprise. He scanned the crowd until his gaze landed on his half-sister Nyssa. “Why did you come back?”

“Ah, no need to be rude now.” Leo chuckled, slowly walking over to the crowd. 

“You know what I meant.” Nyssa said, frowning. “How’d the quest with Apollo go? Did something happen?”

Leo ran a hand through his dark curls. How could he tell them? He looked down for a moment before responding, “Yeah, went great. Everything worked out…” he paused. Should he tell them? Well of course he had to, that was the reason he was here. But looking at all these happy people, he wasn’t sure if he could. How could he just throw such distressing news at them like that? 

Tell them, a cold voice in his head seemed to say, You think lying to them is any better? Tell them, Leo Valdez. Tell them Jason Grace is dead.

_‘Jason Grace is dead.’_

__

__

Leo’s eyes stung at those words. A part of him refused to believe it. His friend couldn’t be dead. Jason was one of the strongest Half-Bloods Leo knew. He couldn’t have died, this had to be some sort of cruel joke. 

“Leo?”

Leo had momentarily forgotten that he was standing in front of hundreds of people. He rubbed the back of his neck and forced out a chuckle, eyes glued to the ground. “Yeah, everything went fine. Nothing to worry about.” 

_Liar._

__

__

Will Solace tilted his head, arms crossed. “Oh, that’s great!....So, uh, why are you here then?”

“Dang, guys! Why so serious?” Leo asked, throwing his hands in the air. “Can’t a guy come chill with his friends at Camp for a bit?” 

Will raised his hands and smiled apologetically. The rest of the crowd seemed to relax a bit after hearing that as well. “Sorry, we were just a little surprised.” 

“Well, don’t be.” Leo said, looking around. He looked up at the evening sky and thought, ‘What am I doing?’, but didn't say anything. “Welp, I’m just gonna head to my cabin now…”

“Wait, you’ve got to tell us about what happened with Apollo!” A little camper said excitedly. “Please?”

Leo laughed nervously, “Of course, Fred. How about I tell ya during Campfire tomorrow? Cause y’know…” he yawned, attempting to come off as exhausted. “Quests can really make you tired and stuff.”

The young Half-Blood nodded seriously. “Yeah, you’re right. Go get some sleep, but don’t forget!”

Leo chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t.” he said, starting to walk off. At that, the crowd slowly broke apart, everyone going their separate ways to either the campfire, to their cabins, or elsewhere.

“Here for nothing, huh?” A voice said from behind Leo, making him jump. He spun around to find himself face to face with a scowling Nico di Angelo. “I find that hard to believe.”

Leo just stood there for a moment, blinking at the raven haired half-blood. He hadn’t seen him since he’d left for his quest with Apollo. Even then, they didn’t exactly have a proper interaction. Looking at him right now, he wanted to burst into tears. But he couldn’t. Not now, not here. 

“Neeks!” he threw himself onto Nico, pulling him into a hug. “I missed you, man!”

Nico hugged back gently. “Yeah. Um, so what happened? While you were gone?”

Leo pulled away from the embrace slowly. “I’ll tell you everything later.” he promised. “But first, let’s go to your cabin. I’m just gonna crash there for the night. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Nico crossed his arms and frowned at Leo. “Yeah. A lot. But If someone hadn’t basically sorta died---”

Leo whacked his arm playfully. “Oh, shut up, di Angelo. You can’t still be angry at me for that.”

Nico still looked annoyed, but thankfully didn’t punch him like the time he returned to camp a few months ago. That guy had literally organized a whole line of people to punch Leo. “Whatever, Valdez.”

Leo smiled and turned around. He spotted the Hades Cabin and began walking towards it, Nico following behind him. “So, you find any new shows for us to watch lately?” he asked. Back on the Argo II, the two used to watch TV shows together whenever they’d have the time. It was one of the things that brought them closer together. 

He glanced at Nico for a second. It was just so strange how this kid he’d once called creepy and freaky was now his best friend. They used to basically hate each other, Nico finding Leo annoying, and Leo finding Nico scary. But now? The two were so close, they’d practically die for each other. Nico was probably the only person that Leo had spoken to about his mother’s death. And Leo knew all about Nico’s sister Bianca. Ever since the day Nico had told him about how Bianca died, Leo felt the need to protect this kid, become the older sibling Nico had lost. He knew it probably sounded stupid. Heck, half the time it was Nico saving Leo from doing stupid stuff. But still, he felt the urge to look after him, make sure he’s okay.

“Actually, yeah.” Nico answered, finally smiling. “You ever heard of Avatar: The Last Airbender?”

__________________________

Moments later, the boys were sitting on Nico's bed, munching on snacks as they watched Avatar. They had gotten through nearly two seasons when Leo paused the show. He looked at Nico, amazed. “Okay, so why haven’t you told me about this show earlier? It’s freaking awesome!”

“I actually just found out about it a few days ago.” Nico said, wrapping a blanket around himself. He looked like a little blanket burrito. “I heard it was really good, so I decided to watch it....” he paused before admitting, “I was also kind of hoping to watch it with you since we’re usually watching TV shows together back on the ship. So I’m glad you showed up today.”

Leo stared at Nico before poking him with the remote control, a smirk spreading across his face. “Aww, so you DID miss me.”

Nico glowered at him, but a corner of his mouth twitched as though he were about to smile. “Don’t make me take it back, Valdez.”

Leo laughed, leaning against a pillow. He glanced at the TV which had been paused during one of Uncle Iroh's appearances. “I’m obviously a Fire Bender. You and Hazel are Earth Benders…”

“Percy’s a Water Bender.” Nico added.

“Definitely.” Leo agreed. “And Air Bender? Ooh, Jason’s totally a---” his voice caught in his throat at the mention of Jason. He instantly regretted saying anything. He swallowed back a sob, looking away from both the screen and Nico. It took him a second to finish. "He's totally an Air Bender."

_Silence._

"He's dead, isn't he?" 

__

Leo whipped his head around to face Nico. ‘W-what?”

A miserable expression spread across Nico’s face. He looked down, avoiding Leo’s gaze. “Leo, I felt him die. I had this feeling---” his voice broke. “I just-- I needed someone to confirm it. A part of me hoped that he wasn’t really dead--you know, like you.”

“Oh.” Leo mumbled sadly. A depressing silence passed, neither of the boys saying anything. The only thing they heard for a while was the sound of cheerful campers singing at the campfire, which really didn’t help.

“It was my fault.” Leo said at last.

Nico’s gaze shot up, his eyes looking a shade darker than usual. “What?”

“I thought that if I, y’know, ‘died’, everyone would be fine. I had the cure and everything, and I’m back now. But maybe--” he choked up, “Maybe I was wrong about the prophecy. ‘To storm or fire the world must fall’. Maybe me ‘dying’ didn’t do or mean anything at all. In the end, Jason died.”

“Leo--” Nico reached out to put a comforting hand on the older boy’s shoulder. Leo just turned away from him.

“It should have been me!” Leo said bitterly, tears escaping his eyes. “Jason didn’t deserve this.”

“Neither do you--”

“Jason’s much more important than me, Nico. He had Piper, all our friends, both camps. Everyone loved him, needed him.” Leo swiped his tears away furiously. “Me? Well, maybe they’ll grieve for a while,but not like Jason. I’m just---”

“Leo!” Nico shouted sharply.

Leo stopped immediately, turning back around to face Nico. When he saw the tears in the younger boy’s eyes, he immediately felt guilty. “Nico---”

Nico wiped his tears away quickly. “Do you seriously still think that way? You think your friends don't care about you?” He glared furiously. “We thought you DIED, Leo. We grieved for you. I grieved for you!”

Nico’s fists were clenched, like he wanted to hit him. Leo thought he probably deserved it. He felt himself shrinking away from the other, his chest tight with guilt. “I’m sorry, I just thought that Jason was more--”

“Do you think Jason would want that, Leo?” Nico asked, his voice deadly. “You think your own best friend would allow you to say that? You’re important, Leo, your friends love you. We all care about you. And I---” tears rolled across his cheeks, slipping onto the blankets. “I can’t lose someone else. Not again.”

It stayed silent for a while. The campfire songs had stopped, making Nico’s sniffling the only sound they could clearly hear. After a few moments, Leo put an arm around Nico, then the other. Slowly, he pulled the other boy into a warm, gentle hug. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m not going anywhere. You can’t get rid of me that fast, you know.” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Nico sniffed, then pulled away. He punched Leo in the arm lightly. “Yeah, you better not. Get away from us again and I’ll be the one to kill you.”

Leo raised his arms, a grin slowly forming on his face. “Understood, Death Boy.”

“Shut up.” Nico muttered. He leaned back and looked out the window, his gaze resting on the now dark sky. “I miss him.”

“He was a hero.” Leo said. He smiled weakly before saying, “A unique hero. I mean, how many heroes do you see eating staplers?”

Nico slightly smiled. “Yeah. An interesting snack if you ask me.”

“Blonde Superman.”

“Our favourite Air Bender.”

The two friends smiled and told more stories about Jason Grace, before Nico drifted off. Before Leo could fall asleep himself, his elbow bumped into the remote, accidentally unpausing the episode on TV. The last thing Leo heard before drifting off was Uncle Iroh’s voice.

_Brave Soldier boy, comes marching home._


End file.
